The effects of air pollution upon health, especially those of domestic smokes in association with sulphur dioxide, may be more serious than is generally recognized. Since 1965, our research efforts have been concentrated on making solid smokeless domestic fuel of a moderate price from the cheaper fine coal, under conditions giving the maximum yield of solid product. The fine coal is carbonized at the mild temperature in a dense fluid-bed with a mechanical stirrer and then the char, while it is hot, is continuously briquetted by a double-roll press without any binder. The velocity of the fluidizing gas, which also contributes to the internal heating of carbonizer, is unnecessary to be so high, because the use of a mechanical stirrer reduces the risk of agglomeration. The carbonizing temperature in a fluidized bed can be controlled automatically by regulating the coal input rate. The fluid-bed temperature may readily be controlled to ±2°C. The qualities of briquettes depend both on the coal properties and the carbonizing conditions. All the experimental results were satisfactory for us to intend the industrialization of the hot briquetting process. The equipment is comparativelly simple and also is suited to a continuous and automatic operation. This paper gives details of the experimental works at our laboratory.
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